Gov. Scott approves new map of congressional districts

Gov. Rick Scott has signed a new congressional redistricting plan, which passed during a special legislative session that ended Monday.

Scott approved the bill (SB 2A) on Wednesday, two days after lawmakers passed the measure on a nearly party-line vote.

Legislators redrew the map after a judge ruled that the existing District 5, represented by Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown, and District 10, represented by Republican Congressman Dan Webster, were crafted to help the GOP.

Circuit Judge Terry Lewis, who sits in Tallahassee, held that the map violated anti-gerrymandering standards that voters added to the Florida Constitution in 2010.

Also on Wednesday, two voting-rights groups that were part of a lawsuit challenging the original districts blasted the new plan.

“The Legislature has a duty to abide by the Constitution, which they swore to uphold and enforce,” said Peter Butzin, chairman of Common Cause Florida, in a statement issued by his organization and the League of Women Voters of Florida.

“We believe they have once again fallen fall short of their sworn duty, and we will continue to urge Judge Lewis to adopt a constitutionally compliant map for the 2014 elections.”